A lake is usually well defined. A bayou is a body of water, smaller than a river or a lake, that flows softly. A swamp is not as deep as a river, lake or bayou and stays the same for most of the year with only occasional change of water level from storms, hurricanes or cold fronts pushing water into it from a larger body of water.
In Louisiana we are losing our wetlands at an astonishing rate. Our marshes are disappearing and when the marsh grass goes, the shrimp go, too, because that is the area of their spawning grounds. The loss of our barrier islands, canals cut by oil and gas companies through the marsh allowing salt water intrusion from the Gulf of Mexico, and industrial battering of land have all contributed to the conditions in which we find ourselves.
Unless we act quickly we will not only lose our beautiful scenery but our greatest protection from hurricanes and our seafood that supplies the nation with most of its fresh delicacies from the water.
RECENTLY ADDED PHOTOS ARE USUALLY AT THE END OF THIS GALLERY.